One of the most overlooked, and frequently forgotten, residential income tax deductions is for casualty losses. Whether you own or rent your residence, you might be eligible. For income tax deduction purposes, a casualty loss is an uninsured "sudden, unusual or unexpected" loss event. Examples include fire, flood, earthquake, hurricane, tornado, mudslide, theft, accident, water damage, riot, embezzlement, vandalism, snowstorm, rainstorm and ice storm. Because all of these...

Homeowners can claim a slew of write-offs to lower their tax bills. There are deductions for mortgage interest, mortgage points and real estate tax payments. And when you sell your home, most likely, you won't have to pay taxes on the profit. If you bought a home last year, you might even get to write off expenses you didn't pay. So make sure you get all the tax breaks you have coming. Here's a rundown: Boats as homes. A boat that has eating, sleeping and sanitary...

`File a homeowner's insurance claim, or even ask if your loss is covered, and you'll lose your insurance." That seems to have become the motto at many major insurance companies. If you're a homeowner, you've probably heard about many of the major insurance companies that turned on their insureds who filed claims on their homeowners' insurance policies. Thousands of insureds who filed claims in 2002--or even phoned their agents to inquire if a loss was insured--were canceled by...

Q. We built a vacation home in 1989. We recently discovered that the contractor made some serious errors in construction. Evidently, he used poor flashing and waterproofing techniques. We hired another contractor recently to assess the situation. The result was that we had to tear down and rebuild a significant part of the home at great cost. We contacted the original contractor, who has told us that he has no liability and that the statute of limitations will prevent us...

Regrettably, 2005 was a record year for both insured and uninsured real and personal property losses. Hurricanes, floods and other events caused millions of dollars of uninsured losses. One consolation for the thousands of uninsured homeowners who lost their homes in Hurricanes Katrina and Rita to flooding is they'll be able to deduct most of their losses on their income tax returns. For partially insured casualty losses, Uncle Sam also will share the loss by allowing...

Q: I live in a condominium with 100-plus units. Our board recently adopted a rule that basically states that before any unit can be sold, the board has to receive and approve a copy of the sales contract as well as the financial information of any potential purchaser. Is this legal? A: Whenever I receive a question about the legality of something that occurs in a community association, whether that be a condominium, a homeowners association or a cooperative, the first...

The casualty loss tax deduction is an important tax break many people hope never has to be used, but it's important to know about anyway. Fires, floods, tornados, thefts, vandalism, water damage and accidents are examples of too-frequent events that can result in casualty loss income tax deductions to compensate for the owner's damage. For income tax purposes a casualty loss is defined as a "sudden, unusual, or unexpected event" that results in an uninsured loss for the property...

Thankfully, 2006 was not a record year for U.S. casualty losses, as was 2005. But 2006 was a year when property owners affected by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma discovered their insurance companies weren't going to pay the full amounts expected. The result is taxpayers can amend their 2005 income tax returns to claim refunds for qualifying casualty losses that occurred during the previous tax year. A casualty loss is defined as a "sudden, unusual or unexpected"...

The 4,800-square-foot 10-room home of Rudolph and Afsa was severely damaged by a flood. They had flood insurance that paid $70,739.79 for damage to the house and $49,871.20 for its contents. Their entire insurance claim, except for $505, was paid. But on their income tax returns Rudolph and Afsa claimed a casualty loss deduction for $500 additional damage to the house and $66,868 for personal property damage. The IRS denied these casualty loss deductions, arguing Rudolph and Afsa...

It's not too late to review the most frequently overlooked real estate tax savings deductions. As I learned a few years ago, it's much easier to claim a real estate tax deduction when filing your original tax return than to later file an amended IRS Form 1040X to claim a forgotten tax deduction. I discovered the IRS hates to part with money so they often scrutinize 1040X refund requests due to additional deductions. However, if you later remember an overlooked tax...

Fire. Flood. Tornado. Theft. Hurricane. Vandalism. Accident. Earthquake. Windstorm. Hail damage. Broken water pipes. What do all these causes of property loss have in common? The answer is they all qualify for the casualty loss income tax deduction. - The sudden, unexpected or unusual rule. If you had a "sudden, unexpected, or unusual" uninsured loss to your home or business property, it qualifies as a casualty loss tax deduction. However, if it was a personal,...

Regrettably, 2005 was a record year for both insured and uninsured real and personal property losses. Hurricanes, floods and other events caused millions of dollars of uninsured losses. One consolation for the thousands of uninsured homeowners who lost their homes in Hurricanes Katrina and Rita to flooding is they'll be able to deduct most of their losses on their income tax returns. For partially insured casualty losses, Uncle Sam also will share the loss by allowing...

Thankfully, 2006 was not a record year for U.S. casualty losses, as was 2005. But 2006 was a year when property owners affected by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma discovered their insurance companies weren't going to pay the full amounts expected. The result is taxpayers can amend their 2005 income tax returns to claim refunds for qualifying casualty losses that occurred during the previous tax year. A casualty loss is defined as a "sudden, unusual or unexpected"...

Unfortunately, 2004 was a big year for uninsured casualty losses. Hurricanes, firestorms, floods and other "sudden, unusual or unexpected" events caused millions of dollars of uninsured losses. But the good news is Uncle Sam wants to help pay for part of your loss. He does so in the form of income-tax savings from the casualty loss tax deduction. Even if you didn't suffer a major loss, you still might be entitled to a tax-deductible deduction. The casualty-loss deduction is...

Fire. Flood. Earthquake. Landslide. Windstorm. Accident. Theft. Vandalism. Broken water pipes. Hurricane. If any of these "sudden, unexpected or unusual" events caused an uninsured loss to your real or personal property, Uncle Sam wants to help pay for your loss. But only casualty losses that exceed 10 percent of your adjusted gross income qualify for this deduction from your income tax. For example, if $40,000 is your adjusted gross income and you had a $10,000...

"If you dare to file a claim on your homeowner's insurance policy, we'll cancel your policy no matter how long you've been our customer." That seems to have become the motto of the insurance industry. Just a few days ago, I received an e-mail from a homeowner who was insured with the same major national insurance company for more than 30 years. Last year she filed a $457 claim. The insurer paid because the loss was covered under the policy. But when her policy...

By Robert J. Bruss, Tribune Media Services. and Robert Bruss is a syndicated writer who specializes in real estate | March 31, 1994

Did you suffer an uninsured loss for a "sudden, unusual or unexpected" event in 1993? Examples include fires, floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, accidents, thefts, broken water pipes, windstorms, hail and vandalism. If you qualify, Uncle Sam wants to help pay for your uninsured loss by giving you an extra tax deduction. Last year, 1993, was a big year for casualty loss damage, especially fires and floods. Because the 1994 Los Angeles earthquake was a declared...

`File a homeowner's insurance claim, or even ask if your loss is covered, and you'll lose your insurance." That seems to have become the motto at many major insurance companies. If you're a homeowner, you've probably heard about many of the major insurance companies that turned on their insureds who filed claims on their homeowners' insurance policies. Thousands of insureds who filed claims in 2002--or even phoned their agents to inquire if a loss was insured--were canceled by...

Did you suffer an uninsured loss of your real or personal property due to a "sudden, unexpected, or unusual event?" The cause might have been a fire, flood, theft, accident, vandalism, earthquake, broken water pipes, hurricane, or earthslide. If your damage was not fully paid for by insurance proceeds, then Uncle Sam can help in the form of income tax savings. To qualify for the federal casualty loss tax deduction, the cause must usually occur rapidly and not be a routine event.

One of the most overlooked, and frequently forgotten, residential income tax deductions is for casualty losses. Whether you own or rent your residence, you might be eligible. For income tax deduction purposes, a casualty loss is an uninsured "sudden, unusual or unexpected" loss event. Examples include fire, flood, earthquake, hurricane, tornado, mudslide, theft, accident, water damage, riot, embezzlement, vandalism, snowstorm, rainstorm and ice storm. Because all of these...